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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smart materials are able to respond in some way to their environment, whether to a chemical change like pH, or a physical change, e.g., temperature or tensile stress. Research into smart materials, including their formation, their responses and their applications, is a very active area. In many cases, these “smart responses” are the result of cooperative phenomena. Such “smart responses” of a material to its environment include practically any physical property that can be measured. Smart materials are found in many fields ranging from biomaterials for drug delivery to sensors used with semiconductors and ceramic materials.

Given the continued interest in the topic of smart materials, a special issue of Materials has been devoted to this subject area. Articles that describe topics such as the synthesis, preparation or self-assembly of smart materials, the characterization of the materials and their response mechanisms, or applications of materials that can be described as: smart, environmentally responsive, self-assembled or organized, of organic or inorganic composition or some composite, are welcomed.

“Surrounding matters” is a phrase that has become more significant in recent times when discussing polymeric materials. Although regular polymers do respond to external stimuli like softening of material at higher temperatures, that response is gradual and linear in nature. Smart polymers (SPs)

“Surrounding matters” is a phrase that has become more significant in recent times when discussing polymeric materials. Although regular polymers do respond to external stimuli like softening of material at higher temperatures, that response is gradual and linear in nature. Smart polymers (SPs) or stimuli-responsive polymers (SRPs) behave differently to those external stimuli, as their behavior is more rapid and nonlinear in nature and even a small magnitude of external stimulus can cause noticeable changes in their shape, size, color or conductivity. Of these SRPs, two types of SPs with the ability to actively change can be differentiated: shape-memory polymers and shape-changing polymers. The uniqueness of these materials lies not only in the fast macroscopic changes occurring in their structure but also in that some of these shape changes are reversible. This paper presents a brief review of current progress in the area of light activated shape-memory polymers and shape-changing polymers and their possible field of applications.
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